Fear No Fear

“He blessed Joseph and said, “God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who fed me all my life long to this day” (Genesis 48:15, MEV). This is a man who did not always acknowledge God as his God (Genesis 28:20-21). He recognised Yahweh AS God, but it wasn’t personal. After everything he went through, being guided and helped whenever he listened, seeing God’s long-term plan and protections, Jacob recognised what God had been doing. God hadn’t forced him to do anything. God hadn’t even forced him – or his children – to obey Him. He guided, protected, provided, watched out for, encouraged, and warned. He had been a shepherd. This is the first time in scripture that the shepherd-sheep analogy was given, and it was a human being who recognised and declared it. We tend to be head-strong. We tend to follow other groups. We’re fiercely devoted to our friends. We cannot see the big picture as it really is. We’re limited in our knowledge of where to find food and shelter. We’re capable of defending ourselves, but only to a certain extent and only if we work together. We’re willing to take risks, but we are not always able to work out whether the risk is worth what we’re getting. We tend to wander. Jacob encountered many of those things. He didn’t always ask God before doing something. He didn’t always make the right decisions. He missed it. But he also asked. He also listened. He also let himself be guided. And he recognised when it was God’s hand that was providing for him. He recognised that God was watching out for him. And so Jacob made God HIS God. He made a relationship and personally knew Him. We face the same decision. Will we recognise God’s hand in our lives? Will we recognise the benefits of a relationship? Will we humbly submit and let Him shepherd us? If we let Him be OUR God and OUR saviour and OUR king, there is nothing we will lack no matter what we walk through (Psalm 23). He will be right there. He will provide. We can rely on Him. But He needs to be the one in charge. He needs first place. If He isn’t there, we won’t be relying on Him. If He isn’t first, we won’t have Him as our Source. But if we do, we’ll never need to look to anything or anyone else to get what we need. Not EVER. Amen. What a GREAT God we serve!